Brock
Registered User
Scouting this year's OHL crop for the NHL draft has been...different. No Ontario Hockey League games this year which means the scouting community has had to get creative. Without question the most difficult thing about evaluating players from Ontario this year has been weighing the different circumstances and leagues against each other. We have some players who went overseas to play in various different leagues. We have some players who played at the U18's, (helping Canada win Gold). We have some players who played at the PBHH Invitational in Erie. We have some players who did not play at all. The one thing that all of these players do have in common is that scouts had to go back and look at their U17 seasons. And even that was a challenge, given some players saw 6 minutes of ice time a night on deep rosters. Needless to say, I hope I never have to scout a draft crop like this ever again.
One thing that I will not be doing this year is my annual re-entry article. Just not enough of these players, previously passed over, have had the chance to truly show progression. As per usual, I will also not be including them in my Top 50 rankings. Obviously guys like Ethan Cardwell or James Hardie have a chance to be drafted this time around (and should have been drafted in 2020), but if you are searching for information on them, you can simply consult my final 2020 rankings.
One thing you will notice is that I have included some Import players...and omitted others. Here was how I drew the line on who to include and who not to include. If they played in the league last year (like Chanton) and had intended to return, they were included. Additionally, if they signed and committed to the league, but they did not play elsewhere (like Grushnikov or Sobolev), I included them (out of fairness to them). However, if they had not played in the league yet and played elsewhere this year (like Kuzmin, Kolosov or Petrov), they were not included.
Lastly, as I always state, this ranking is meant to serve as my own list or ranking if I were drafting for an NHL club. It is not a prediction of where I think these players will get drafted. If I did that, the list would look different. If you want a draft projection and a better overall picture of the 2021 NHL Draft crop, be sure to subscribe to McKeen's Hockey and pick up our draft guide, (which I have a large hand in).
Here is the Top 10:
1. Brandt Clarke
2. Mason McTavish
3. Brennan Othmann
4. Francesco Pinelli
5. Ben Gaudreau
6. Chase Stillman
7. Ethan Del Mastro
8. Ryan Winterton
9. Wyatt Johnston
10. Daniil Chakya
Here are the four parts:
1 - HM's - OHL Prospects: My Final Top 50 OHL Players for the 2021 NHL Entry Draft - Part 1: Honorable Mentions
2- 50-31 - OHL Prospects: My Final Top 50 OHL Players for the 2021 NHL Entry Draft - Part 2: 50-31
3 - 30-11 - OHL Prospects: My Final Top 50 OHL Players for the 2021 NHL Entry Draft - Part 3: 30-11
4 - Top 10 - OHL Prospects: My Final Top 50 OHL Players for the 2021 NHL Entry Draft - Part 4: 10-1
As always, happy to answer any questions that you may have.
One thing that I will not be doing this year is my annual re-entry article. Just not enough of these players, previously passed over, have had the chance to truly show progression. As per usual, I will also not be including them in my Top 50 rankings. Obviously guys like Ethan Cardwell or James Hardie have a chance to be drafted this time around (and should have been drafted in 2020), but if you are searching for information on them, you can simply consult my final 2020 rankings.
One thing you will notice is that I have included some Import players...and omitted others. Here was how I drew the line on who to include and who not to include. If they played in the league last year (like Chanton) and had intended to return, they were included. Additionally, if they signed and committed to the league, but they did not play elsewhere (like Grushnikov or Sobolev), I included them (out of fairness to them). However, if they had not played in the league yet and played elsewhere this year (like Kuzmin, Kolosov or Petrov), they were not included.
Lastly, as I always state, this ranking is meant to serve as my own list or ranking if I were drafting for an NHL club. It is not a prediction of where I think these players will get drafted. If I did that, the list would look different. If you want a draft projection and a better overall picture of the 2021 NHL Draft crop, be sure to subscribe to McKeen's Hockey and pick up our draft guide, (which I have a large hand in).
Here is the Top 10:
1. Brandt Clarke
2. Mason McTavish
3. Brennan Othmann
4. Francesco Pinelli
5. Ben Gaudreau
6. Chase Stillman
7. Ethan Del Mastro
8. Ryan Winterton
9. Wyatt Johnston
10. Daniil Chakya
Here are the four parts:
1 - HM's - OHL Prospects: My Final Top 50 OHL Players for the 2021 NHL Entry Draft - Part 1: Honorable Mentions
2- 50-31 - OHL Prospects: My Final Top 50 OHL Players for the 2021 NHL Entry Draft - Part 2: 50-31
3 - 30-11 - OHL Prospects: My Final Top 50 OHL Players for the 2021 NHL Entry Draft - Part 3: 30-11
4 - Top 10 - OHL Prospects: My Final Top 50 OHL Players for the 2021 NHL Entry Draft - Part 4: 10-1
As always, happy to answer any questions that you may have.